Second Try, Second Course
by raendown
Summary: Sakura is determined to make it a date this time. Sequel to "Dinner Date"


Sakura was absolutely thrilled when Kakashi asked her two weeks later if she wanted to come over for a cooking lesson. He had avoided her for the first three days after the evening she made him dinner, during which she was absolutely sure he had mistaken their evening as a date. It was adorable that he was embarrassed by it. She'd never seen Kakashi embarrassed by anything before and the memory of his face turning so red still brought a smile to her face.

It was amazing that he would ever see her as a romantic partner. Sure she'd had her fair share of fantasies of him; who wouldn't? He was the uncontested Hotness Champ of the village, not to mention smart, skilled, and an entire long list of other pleasing adjectives that made him fantasy material for single women everywhere. She had never let it go beyond some light dreaming, imagining calloused pale hands on her when it was dark and she was alone. No one ever had to know. Now, however, she was intrigued by the potential for them to become more. More than friends, more than comrades. She was so beyond flattered that _he_ saw the potential for more.

Kakashi had only given her one day's notice, casually asking if she wanted to drop by the next night so he could teach her to cook like he'd promised. Sakura had cancelled her plans for the evening and barricaded herself in her home to scheme. She had already accidentally send him scrambling away once. Obviously he was in the mindset that this time was Not A Date. So how should she go about showing him that it was? Every magazine that Ino had ever left lying around her place was hauled out from whichever forgotten corner she had shoved them in and she spent the night flipping through them for advice.

By the time he was letting her in to his apartment the next night she felt confident and ready to employ the handful of tips she had picked out. She had dressed for battle in a cute sundress that fell just to her knees and left both her arms bare. Kakashi was wearing his normal uniform minus the vest, dressed down as much as he ever was. When he saw her his eyes crinkled with amusement.

"Maa, Sakura-chan, what if you spill something on yourself?" he asked. "It would be a shame to ruin such a pretty dress." She preened internally that he noticed her dress, then psyched herself up for her first big move.

"That's alright Kakashi, I'm sure you'll give me something to wear, right?" She made sure to add a sultry lilt to her voice, happy that the first idea had already gone off without a hitch. Surely Kakashi would be picturing her in his own clothes now and what man could resist such an image?

She was not at all prepared for the horrible cloth monstrosity that was suddenly shoved down over her head, knocking her ponytail slightly askew.

"Of course!" Kakashi chirped. "Lucky I have this! It was a present from Gai but I don't mind if you borrow it."

She looked down at herself and cringed at the brilliant green apron which concealed her from neck to knees, entirely covering her dress while proclaiming 'Mr. Good Lookin' is Cookin' in thick black letters. Apparently he wasn't quite on the same mental track as she was yet. That was alright, she decided. She had other plans to put in motion. Losing one battle didn't mean she had lost the war.

Sakura tied the hideous apron around her waist as she followed Kakashi in to the kitchen, eyeing the tools and ingredients laid out around the room. There was a small shelf above the sink which held a few cookbooks but they were all covered in a thick layer of dust. It seemed he cooked mostly from memory.

"I wanted to start with something simple but I also thought it should be your choice," Kakashi was saying. He pulled one of the cookbooks down and shook the dust off before handing it to her. Sakura made sure to brush their fingers together when she took it. He didn't so much as twitch and she wondered if he had even felt it through his gloves. It took effort not to pout as she flipped through the pages, wondering what she felt like cooking – and later, eating. After the incredibly flustered reaction he'd had last time she'd thought this would be a lot easier. Perhaps she was being too subtle.

Determined to step up her game, Sakura picked one at random that she knew would involve at least a little mess. She could work with messy. While they chatted and picked out what spices to use Sakura made sure to stand close, to smile and touch Kakashi's arm when he spoke. He gave her a funny look and cracked a joke about how he'd never realized how small his kitchen was until now. After a while she started to wonder if he was being deliberately obtuse; she was throwing out as many signals as she could, why wasn't he picking up on any of them?

While sprinkling a container of seasoning in to the pot on the stove Sakura made sure to shake it a little too hard. It fanned out across the counter and stove top, making a colorful pattern on the plain white surfaces. While Kakashi laughter at her and fetched a cloth she dragged a finger through the mess. Just as he turned back she slipped the finger in to her mouth, suckling on it with an expression of exaggerated enjoyment while making sure not to look directly at him. She threw in a low hum for the coup de grace, making it as sensual as possible while still staying situationally innocent. She looked up with wide eyes when Kakashi cleared his throat.

"You know, you'll have to wash your hands again now," he said. "That's not really hygienic when you're cooking."

He turned away only half a second before her jaw dropped, flabbergasted. How could he have _no reaction_? Disgruntled, Sakura picked her jaw up and narrowed her eyes at him. Alright. If he wanted to play it that way then it was time for the finishing move. This was _going_ to be date, whether he knew that or not! At this point it had become a matter of pride.

Sakura huffed quietly while she grabbed the vegetables and yanked them over towards her. Kakashi puttered around stirring what was already on the stove while telling her the best way to cut each vegetable for maximum flavor. She waited until she felt eyes on her to begin purposefully chopping them unevenly, each slice a different size and creating wonky shapes. Kakashi watched her silently for a moment before speaking up.

"Ah, there's a kind of trick to it if you want them to all come out equal." He used his hands to demonstrate the proper rocking motion the knife should make against the cutting board, instructing her to use her other hand to move the vegetable along instead of moving the knife. Sakura made a show of trying to do it but failing hilariously.

"Ugh it's not working Kakashi," she grumbled, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. "Can you just show me with _my_ hands? You know, like how you correct my grip in training?"

Kakashi blinked at her and seemed to pause, the first reaction he had given that indicated any success in her endeavors. He put down the ladle he was holding with hesitance on his features.

"I could…try," he said. He came over to stand beside her and attempted to reach across in front of her to take hold of her grip and demonstrate the motion.

"Kakashi I can't see if you do it like that."

"Oh." He drew his hands back and looked even more reluctant. "Um, well, the only other way to do it would be to put my arms, uh, around you." Was that a bit of pink she detected above his mask?

"Of course."

She pitched her tone to be inviting but not suggestive, luring her unsuspecting fly in to the honey trap. Kakashi took a steadying breath before shuffling around to stand directly behind her, carefully leaving a few inches of separation between their bodies. Then he brought both arms around her and took each of her hands in one of his own. His pale hands nearly engulfed her smaller ones and she found she could suddenly think of nothing but holding his hand as they walked down the street. His grip would always be sure and strong and she thought she would never want him to let go.

Kakashi spoke lowly in her ear as he moved their limbs together in the appropriate rocking motion, making clean even slices of celery at the same time he was making her smile. When she thought she had waited long enough, sure he was about to pull back any moment, she made her move. With a soft, happy little sigh Sakura let her body sink backwards in to his, cocooning herself in his warm hold and feeling the way all of his muscles went instantly stiff. His hands stopped guiding hers and the two of them hung in perfect stillness for a short time.

"Sakura?" His voice was so low it was almost a whisper but she could still hear the slight shaking. She hummed in answer. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes opened and she stared unseeingly at the wall across from her as a thought occurred. She had planned to make him realize this was a date by flirting as much as possible. She had not, however, planned for what to do afterwards. What _was_ she doing? What was her endgame here? Her mind raced even as she answered calmly.

"Stealing a hug. Isn't that what people do on first dates? Hug? Unless you'd rather skip straight to the kissing."

If possible, the man at her back stiffened even more. His hands clenched around her reflexively before he leapt entirely away from her as if stung. Sakura turned to see him all the way across the kitchen, staring at her with wide eyes.

"D-date? First – what? You – date!?" She was then blessed for the second time with the image of Kakashi's full faced blush, the red nearly brighter than their dinner a couple weeks ago. It was wonderfully endearing, the way he brought his hands up in front of himself protectively. Looking at him, Sakura made up her mind. First date or no, she knew exactly how she wanted this night to end.

"Kakashi," she began firmly, closing the space between them again with slow footsteps. "I like you. I want this to be a date. I want to go on other dates. I want… _you_."

He watched her coming towards him with a number of emotions vying for prominence on his face. His blush was slowly receding, cooled down to a light red streak across the bridge of his nose by the time they stood face to face. She could see his throat moving as he swallowed, then he pushed himself away from the wall, closer to her. He lifted one arm to ghost his fingertips along her jaw.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She was glad when he didn't immediately go off on a rant about all the reasons that they might not work because that wasn't the point in any relationship. The point was that they might _work_. That was what made the trying worth it.

"When have I ever been unsure of what I wanted?" she replied. He nodded absently.

"Fair enough." And just like that he conceded. Sakura was amazed. Although, she realized, he _had_ agreed when he had thought she was the one asking him to dinner. Maybe she shouldn't be so surprised that it was easy to convince him now.

"Kiss me," she breathed.

The fingertips on her jaw became a palm cupping her cheek, a gentle caress sliding across her skin before guiding her face upwards. Her eyes fell closed and her lips parted ever so slightly, preparing for a moment she had only ever let herself think of in an abstract never-gonna-happen way.

Her eyes popped back open when she felt material covered lips press against her forehead instead of her mouth. Her gaze looked up to see that Kakashi had indeed just kissed her directly on the small diamond shaped seal she had first developed during the Fourth Shinobi War. When he pulled back she raised her eyebrows as if to ask him 'really?'. He chuckled.

"I've always wanted to," he confessed. Warmth burst in her stomach like tiny fireworks.

Grinning now at how absolutely sappy that was, Sakura took a fistful of Kakashi's shirt collar and pulled him down, kissing him as well as she knew how. She waged war against his mouth, taking no prisoners in a battle for a heart she hadn't even known she wanted for her own until two weeks ago. Kakashi gave as good as he got, kissing her so fiercely she barely realized that his mask was still on; he was just that good.

A large hand had only just swept past her hip, tracing around her waist and heading for some very interesting territory, when suddenly a screeching wail sent them both leaping three feet in the air, landing in defensive crouches with weapons drawn. Her heart was so loud in her ears from first the kiss and then the fright that it took a second to realize she was hearing the fire alarm go off. The pot still on the stove was belching a thick stream of black smoke while the contents bubbled in to a dark sludge.

They looked at each other, then Kakashi threw his head back and laughed so hard she feared he might herniate something. It fell to her to turn the stove off and pull the pots off the active burners before going over to open a window. The alarm continued to scream until she climbed up on the counter and poked it with one chakra-charged finger, crushing the center of the device and killing the noise. When she climbed down she went back to Kakashi, still chuckling and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. It was the happiest she had even seen him and it didn't fade when he reached out with both hands to pull her back in to his embrace.

"Maa, wasn't I supposed to be teaching you something?" he asked as their faces drew close again. "Something like how to cook?" He tugged at the horrible apron still tied around her waist.

"Why don't you teach me how to cook breakfast instead?" Sakura proposed. Kakashi raised one of his eyebrows.

"In case you missed seeing the clock, it's still night time."

Sakura leaned in and spoke softly against his lips, her voice a sensual purr. "Then I suppose I'll have to stay until morning."

Kakashi didn't seem to find anything wrong with her suggestion. He did, however, have a hard time concentrating long enough to direct her to his bedroom.


End file.
